Safety device for elevator operation



NVENTOR ,JM ATTORNEY Mud 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l l 1 i l Filed May 8, 1925 C W BASSETT SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR OPERATION v Oct. 5 1926.

Oct. 5 1926. 1,601,841 C. W. BASSETT SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR OPERATION Filed May 8, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvaNToR @57M w. @um

- BY '1 Y ATIORNEY operate.

Patented Oct. 5, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CYBUS W. BASSETT, 0F MAPLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, `ASSIGNOR TO ELEVATOB SUP- PLIES COMPANY, INC., 0F HOBOKEN, JERSEY.

NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW SAFETY DEVICE FOB ELEVATOR OPERATION.

Application led Hay 8,

The present invention relates to safety devices for elevator operation, and more particularly to improvements in locking and. control means for preventing operat1on or for permitting operation of an elevator car except under certain limiting conditions.

In the operation of passenger elevators it is of great importance that means be provided whereby it will be impossible to operate the elevators while at a floor landing with the shaft doors in open position. The means must be of a form which cannot be readily disconnected or rendered inoperatlve by unauthorized persons, and the varlous parts of the mechanism must be so lnterconnected that when the elevator is in operation the various safety devices must of necessity The invention, which will hereinafter be described, provides certain novel and improved features over the means heretofore employed; which serve to greatly lncrease the safety of operation, and results in an increased efficiency in elevator operation.

The primary object of the lnvention is to provide new and improved means in safety devices for elevator operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of correlated devices which-operate interdependently, one device serving as a check and locking means for other parts, so that the elevator cannot operate unless the various parts are in the required correlated positions to permit safe operation of the elevator.

A further object of the invention is to simplify and improve safety devicesin conneet-ion with elevator operation so as to render the actuation of the partsvinterdependent and positive in operation.

With these yand other objects in view the invention comprises the various features hereinafter described and particularly delined in the claims.

The various features of-my invention are illustrated in thel accompanying drawings showing the preferred embodiment of my invention, in which Figure 1 1s a vertical sectional view of a 1925. serial No. 28,814.

portion of an elevator hatchway, and an elevator car therein, the car being shown at a landing with the shaft doors in closed position and the car gate in open osition, and the various safety devices embo ying my invention being shown in relation thereto;

Figure 2 is a detail view in elevation showing certain features of the invention and illustrating the relative positions of the toggle levers and various parts connected therewith when the elevator doors are in closed position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view in elevation showing the relative positions of the toggle levers and parts connected therewith xtvhen theelevator doors are in open posiion;

'Figure 4 is a part sectional view in elevation taken on the line 4 4 of Figure v showing a section of a car at a landinl and the car controller therein, which is s own in neutral position, in combination with means for locking the controller and showing als) means for operating the latch release ro Figure 5 is a sectional plan view of a portion of the elevator car and shaft, showing the relative positions of the controller and parts associated therewith, when the elevator doors are in closed position;

Figure 6 is an end view of the controller taken from the left in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a detailed vie'w showing the preferred form of car cam for actuating a lever operatively connected to the latch release rod;

Figure 8 is a detailed view showing the preferred form of levers for transmitting motion from the car cam to the latch release rod and showing also door locking means operatively connected to the release rod;

Figure 9 is a plan view showing a portion of4 the elevator hatchway in section showing the means for locking the door in open Figure 10 is a detailed plan view of the the section une `shaft doors which are mounted `in the usual manner upon overhead guide rails 14, 16, the

- toggle levers 18 to which a handle. 20` of the usual vform is connected for hand o eration.

Operatively connected tothe togg e .levers 18l are a door closing and check mechanism 22 and a switch 40, the latter being in circuit with the elevator operating circuit and serving to break the circuit when the elevator doors are opened.

In Figure 1 the hatchwaydoors or ele? vator shaft doors are shown in the-closed position, as seen from the interior ofthe hatchway, the car gate being indicated l1n open position. The door closer and .check mechanism 22, above referredmto, which 1s connected to the levers 18, may be of any desired form such as the so-'called hand check, for example, which operates to oppose the opening movement of the elevator doors when the doors are opened by hand, and to return the doors to closed` position when the handle on the toggle levers is released. In place of the hand check I may employ a power check or, in other words, a device of the same kind which is pneumatlcally operated, various forms of which are in common use.

The door closer and check mechanism 22 may be mounted in any suitable manner, although I preferably mount the mechanism by attaching one end thereof to a bracket 23 to which it is pivotally connected, the bracket being attached to the side walls of the hatchway or mounted on a back plate 25, and attaching the other end through the piston' rod 24 to a lug 26 or other sui/table connecting means on the toggle levers 18.

. The piston rod- 24 is attached to a piston or plunger within the cylinder which operates in a liquid to provide cushioning action.

Mounted in the cylinder around the piston rod 24 is a spring' which is compressed. when the elevator doors are opened, the spring serving to return the elevator doors to closed position. The operation of theapparatus with powerv operation is substantially the same as with the hand check except that the movement of the doors is controlled by a leverV which operates a valve to' admit or exhaust pressure uid to and from the check mechanism.

In order to prevent the opening of the elevator shaft doors except when the elevator car is arrested inthe shaft within the predetermined vdistance of the landing, a

latch `28 is` provided to cooperate with the toggle levers to normally hold the door closer -arms and par-ts connected thereto in locked position. Operativelyl connected to. the

latch 28'is .a release'mechanism for disconnecting or unlocking the latch when the car is in .a'suitable-position and it is desired to open the elevator doors. The latch 28 is preferably'7 pivotewd on' al bracket v30, `which ,Y vmay beintegral vwith the bracket member doors being connected to door closer arms or 32, '-if'desired, to which't'he door closer arms` are connected. Inv order tov lock the-tog- Y vportion 29 lthereof in the locked position of the latch. `The latch lock 34 may be made integral with the connectingA member` or lugthrough which the piston rod 24 is connected to the toggle levers, although a separate connecting means may be employed if desired, for connecting the piston rod 24 to the toggle levers.

In order that the latch 28 may be raised to unlock the toggle levers when the ca r is within a suitable distance of the landing an operating mechanism is provided, the parts ofwhich are adapted to hcooperate only when they elevator car is suitably positioned with respect to the floor landing. In order to accomplish this yresult' one portion of the mechanism is attached to or installed in the elevator car and the other portion is operatively connected to the latch at the landing, and cam means or other tripping mechanism is provided through which the parts may cooperate to attain the desired action.

The mechanism whichl is directly associated with the latch member at the landing is preferably mounted on the sill at the ,landing and comprises a latch release rod 36 .which is operatively connected at its upper end with the latch member 28 by means of a lug or other suitable connecting kmeans 41 which is attachedl to the latch member by means of a swivel joint connection. The release rod passes through an opening in the-lug 41 and is free to move relatively .to the lug within certain limits. Attached to the release rod below the lug 41 is a lifting member 37 adapted to contact with the lug 4l when the rod is raised, therebylifting thelatch 28 out of locked position. Attached to the release rod 36 above the lug 41 are lock nuts 39 or their equivalent by means of which the downward movement of the release rod is limited.

VVben the latch member 28 is raised the ylatch lock 34 is then released from locked bringing the latch lock 34v upwardly into -130 the position shown in Figurev 3. In this position the latch lock engages the nose portion of the latch 28 and holds the latch in raised position, as illustrated in Figure 3, until the toggle levers are again operated to bring the link member 31 into its original position, whereby the elevator doors are closed.

In order to operate the switch 40, so as to open the controller circuit when the elevator doors are opened, and in order to make the operation of the switch dependent on the operation o f the latch member 28, so as to have the controller circuit closed when the `-toggle levers. are locked, the switch operating. lever 44 is connected to the latch 28 by my suitable means such as a connecting rod l2, for example, which is preferably connected thereto by means of a swivel joint connection 46. The operating lever 44 of,v

ber as shown in Figure 3, the circuit is open, the non-conducting portions of the movable member being in contact with the conducting bars.

Any suitable form of connection between the latch 28 and the switch 40 may be employed, by means of which the relative positions of the .parts may be adjusted so as to attain operation when the parts of the mechanism have reached certain predetermined positions. It is, in general, desirable that the relative positionsof the parts should be so adjusted t at the circuit throu h the switch 44 will close at the moment t e eleyIn order, when the elevator doors have been opened, to retain the doors in. their open position, a door lock 48 is provided for engaging a catch or tongue 54 suitably attached to one of the doors whereby the doors are held in their full open position until the lock 48 is released by a suitable releasing mechanism. The door lock 48 may be mounted in any suitable manner, although it is preferably pivotally connected to a bracket member 50 attached to the back plate 25.

In order to disconnect or unfasten the door lock, when the elevator doors are to be released from their full open'position, an adjustable trip 52 (see Fig. 9) is provided which is preferably mounted on the release rod 36 in a suitable position, so that when the release rod is raised the trip will engage and raise the door lock 48 whereby the lock will be disconnected from the catch or tongue 54, attached to one of the elevator doors. During the opening movement of the elevator doors 10, 12, the catch or tongue 54, which is preferably mounted on a bracket 55 (see Fig. 8) on the back of the forward door l2, moves under one of the teeth 49 of the locking bar 48, whereby the doors Will be held in their open position until the lock is released by the tripping member 52. The releasev rod 36 is preferably mounted in a guide member or bracket 56 and a spring member 58 is mounted on the rod below the bracket so as to return the release rod to its original position, after it has been operated to release the latch 28 from'its locked position, or to release the door lock 48. The spring 58 is preferably held in position on the rod by means of a collar or washer 60 attached to the rod 36, as is shown in Figures 2 and 8.

For the purpose of operating the rod 36 it'is connected at its lower end to a suitable operating means or connecting means, which comprises preferably a bell crank lever 62, pivotally mounted on a bracket 64, the bracket being mounted upon the sill 66 at the landing, or in any other suitable position. The bell crank lever 62 is connected through an adjustable connecting rod 72 to a second lever 68, which is preferably pivotally mounted on af bracket 70. Connected to the lever 68 is a roller 74 which is mounted so as to project laterally into the elevator shaft a suitable distance so that itr may engage a tripping mechanism mounted on the elevator car Without coming into contact with the elevator. The tripping mechanism may be of any suitable form, although I preferably employ a cam member 76, shown in Fig. 2, which may be mounted on a lever 78, pivotally attached tothe side of the car by means of a bolt or other fastening means 80 (see Figs. 4 and 7).

Mounted preferably on the side of the elevator car, at the side of the rod or lever 78, is a stop member 82 adapted to limit the return movement of the lever. In order to cushion the movement of the lever against the sto a suitable cushioning means 83, such whiclu is mounted on the rod between the bracket 86 and a nut or other holding vmeans 90 at the end of the rod. As the lever 78 moves away from the stop 82, the spring member 88 is compressed, and tends to return the lever to its original position against the stop 82 as soon as the means actuating the lever is released.

Any suitable means adapted for operating the lever 78 to move the cam 76 into and out of tripping position with respect to the roller 74 may be employed. The means which I preferably employ for this purpose comprises a system of levers connected to the cam lever and a foot pedal located within the car and operatively connected to the levers. The system of levers maybe mounted in any suitable-manner although I preferably employ a shaft 94 mounted in bearings 96 in a bracket 98 under the car to Awhich the cam lever 76 is o erativel connected. The shaft 94 is rigidly connected or keyed to an arm 100 having a bearing 102 in its outer end in which is a shaft member 104 which in turn is connected to the lower end of the cam lever 78. At the end of the shaft 94, opposite to that at which the lever 100 is connected.v there is mounted a lever 106, which projects a suitable distance under the car so as to give the desired leverage, and connects with a foot pedal 108, by means of which the lever system is directly operated. The foot pedal 108 has a stem 112 which passes through a suitable opening in the floor of the car, which serves to guide it in its movement, the pedal being normally maintained in its raised position by means'of the spring 88 which holds the lever 78 in its retracted position. The pedal 108 is preferably attached to the arm 106 through a connecting member or lug 110 pivotally attached to the arm 106,and attached tothe lower end of the pedal stem 112 by any suitable connecting means such as a screw thread connection 114.

For the purpose of locking the controller in neutral position when the pedal 108 is operated to release the latch 28. and there-` by permit the toggle levers 18 to be operated to open the elevator doors, an arm or lever 116 is attached or keyed at'one end to the shaft 94, preferably between bearings 96. and is pivoi'ally connected at its other end to a control locking bar or rod y118, which passes upwardly through the floor of the car. and through a guide member 120, preferably -at the rear of the car controller 122. into a position in which it may engage a suitable locking means operatively connected to the controller crank 125. The locking means connected to the car| controller crank 125 comprises preferably a member 132 having a slot 138 therein and having two laterally projecting arms 134,

136, the inner side of which is adapted to contact with the rod 118 or a suitable lug or contacting member 140 thereon so as to prevent the upward movement of the conf trol locking bar 118 except when the crank 125 is in neutral position of the controller. The laterally projecting arms 134 and 136 extend preferably concentrically wlith respect to the center of rotation of' the con.- troller crank 125and 4the slot `138 between the side arms'134 and 136 is preferably of a \size so as to substantially lit the member 140 so as to prevent substantiall movement of the crank arml 125 when the member 140 on the rod 118 has been moved into place in the slot.

The pedal' 108 can only be depressed obviously when the controller crank 125 has been moved into neutral position, whereby the slot 138 is brought into registration with the locking member 140 on the rod 118. As soon as the pedal 108 is depressed the member 140 moves intovthe slot 138, locking the controller, and-,simultaneouslythe lever 78 is operated to extend the car cam 76 into the position in which it moves the roller 74 and operates the latch release rod 36, as has been explained above. As soon as the toggle levers are operated to open the elevator doors, the controller switch 40 is opened and the elevator cannot thereafter be operated until the toggle levers are again closed and the controller; locking bar has been withdrawn out of engagement with the slot 138. If for .any reason the car switch handle is not in neutral position when pressure is exerted on the .foot pedal 108, the lug 140 strikes'on one of the arms 134 or 136 and prevents the foot pedal from being depressed the requisitedistance to bring the car cam 76 into operative position with respect to the roller 74.

The complete operation of the mecha? nlsm may be briefly described as follows:

Assume that the operator has stopped thel oor is car at a landing so that the car within three inchesof the landing floor. The controller handle 126 is then in neutral position,\t he latch 28 is in locked position and the car cam 7 6 -is in its retracted position. vThe'operator, in order to unlock the latch 28 so as to permit opening of the shaft doors,fexerts a downward pressure on the foot pedal 108 whereby the control locking bar 118 moves upwardly, bringing the lug 140 into engagement with the slot 138 to arms or toggle levers 18 are free to be operated to cause opening `of the shaft doors.

Through the upward'movement of the latch 28 the switch 40 is opened by means of the rod 42 attached to the latch 28 and the controller circuit is thereby broken, whereby it will be impossible to operate the elevator until the switch 40 is again returned to its closed circuit position.

'footpedal 108 may then be released, wherebythe car cam 7 6 is retracted by means of 'the spring 88, andthe release rod 3 6, through the action of the spring 58, is moved downwardly until the nut .39 thereon engages the lug 41, whereby the roller 74 is returned to its original position, although the latch 28 remains in raised position.

When the elevator doors are brought into full open position the catch or lug 54 at the rear of the forward door 12 engages and lifts the door lock 48 (see Fig. 8), which then engages the catch at one of the teeth 49,

whereby the doors are retained in full pen position until the member 48 is unlocked, which is accomplished by exerting pressure on the vfoot pedal 108 which moves vthe cam 7 6 into contact with the roller 74, which lifts the release rod 36 whereby the member 52 then engages the latch or door lock 48, moving it out of engagement with the latch '54, thereby releasing the doors.

During the opening movement of the velevator door energy is stored up in the spring in the door closer and check mechanism 22, whereby, when the door lock is released, the doors are returned to their closed position through the force exertedby' the spring.

While the elevator doors are in open position and held by the door lock 48 the operlator may obviously remove his foot from the pedal, whereby the movable cam `761s retracted by the action of the spring 88 into The unlocking of the controller handledoes not permit operation of the elevator while the elevator doors are in open position, however, as the controller circuit remains open untilt'he switch '40 is closed, which can be accomplished only through the door clos- \cylinder.

ing movement levers.

In order to return the elevator doors to the closed position the handle 20 is released by the operator, or ifthe doorshave been opened'to their full open position so as to be locked by meansofthe door lock 48,'the operator exerts a downward pressure onthe pedal 108 which raises the release rod 36, whereby the tripping member 52 raises the door lock 48,v releasing the catch 54 and per- \mitting the return movement of the doors and locking of.v the v toggle ,4

by the action of the'sprin in the door closer 4 The downwar movement of the v pedal also locks the controller in neutral position, as above explained. fDuring the final closing movement of the doors the movment is checkedvby means of the checking device in the door operating cylinder, and as the door closer arms return to their original po- ;sition, the latch hook 34 moves under the hook 29 of the latch, thereby locking the latch 28 in closed position and simultaneously closing -the switch 40 through the movement ofthe rod 42, attached to the latch,

which operates the switch lever 44. As soon as the pressure on the foot pedal is released the car cam7 6 is retracted and the controller locking bar 118 is simultaneously withdrawn out of engagement with the controller, thereby permitting operation of the elevator car.

If, in the movement of the toggle levers to closed position the latch 28 should remain raised during the first part of the closing movement, the projection 35 on the latch lock 34 will vstrike against the projection or lug 27 connected to the latch 28, whereby the latch will be forced into closing posltion.

In the final closing movement, as soon as the foot pedal 108 is released the release rod 36 will be forced downwardly by means of the spring 58 whereby the nuts 39 at the top of the rod will come into contact with the lug 41, thereby assisting also in the final closing movement of the latch in which it becomes locked in position over the latch lock 34. In the locked position of the toggle levers any tendency to open the toggle levers will put the latch 28 and the latch lock 34 in tension.

' It is to be understoodthat the device which has been described constitutes only the preferred embodiment of my invention and that various changes or modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the' claims.

lVhat I claim as new is 1. A control mechanism for elevator operation comprising iny combination van elevator' car, a controller in said car, a shaft door, toggle levers for operating said door, a door closing and check mechanism connected to said ltoggle levers, means for locking said toggle leversto prevent operation thereof when the elevator car is in motion comprisr ing a latch, a latch locken said toggle levers adapted to cooperate with said latch to normally hold said toggle levers in locked position, a release rod operatively mounted in connection with the said latch to release, when actuated, the said latch from the said latch lock, a lever operatively connected to said release rod, a cam mounted on said car for tripping said lever, means for moving said cam into tripping position 4with respect to said lever, means operatively connected to said cam to lock the controller in neutral position when said cam is in tripping position, and means for preventing movement of the cam into tripping position when the controller is out of neutral position.

2. A control mechanism for elevator operation comprising in combination an elevator car, a shaft door, toggle levers for operating said door, a power operated door closing and check mechanism connected to said tog le levers to control the movements of said oor, means for locking the said toggle levers to prevent opening thereof when the elevator car is in motion, a controller in said car', an electric switch in circuit withu said controller, means for operatively con!l necting said switch to said locking means vso as to open the controller circuit when said locking means is operated to unlock said toggle levers, means within the elevator car to unlock said locking means, means for simultaneously locking said controller in neutral position, means to pre-vent the unlocking of the toggle lever locking means when said controller is out of neutral position, means for locking said door in open position, and means accessible within the said car for unlocking said doorlocking means' -when and only when said controller is in neutral position.

3. A control mechanism for elevator operation which comprises in combination an elevator car, a controller in said car, a shaft v door, toggle levers for operating'said door,

a door closing and 'check mechanism connected to said toggle levers, an electric switch 1n circuit with said controller, a latch, lmeans operatively connecting said switch withsaid y latch so as to open the controller circuit when e rested in the shaft vwithin a said latch is operated, a latch lock connected to said toggle levers'and normally held in locked position by said latch whereby the circuit through said switch will be closed when said toggle levers are in closed position, a latch release rod connected to said latch, means operable Awithin said elevator car for actuating said release rod to unlock said latch lock when the elevator car .is ar-r redetermined distance of the landing at which said shaft `door is, to beopened, and means yfor returning the saidrelease rod to its original position without returning said latch to locked position when said actuating lmeans within l the elevator car is released.

4. In a device of -th e kind described, an,l elevator door, toggle 'levers connected to said door and pivot-ally mounted on a stationary surface, a latch pivotally mounted below said toggle levers on said surface,.a latch lock connected to a link of the toggle levers and extending under said latch so as to cooperate therewith to lock said toggle levers in the vposition in which said elevator door is closed, means for actuating the said latch comprising a rod `mounted in proximity thereto and adapted to raise the latch when said rod is actuated from within thel elevator car, means within the elevator car for latch -lock has been returned to its position corresponding to the closed position of the elevator door.

5. In a device of the kind described, the combination of toggle levers, means for locking the said levers in closed position comprising members connected therewith so as to be subjected -to`tension when it is attempted to open the levers in the locked position of said locking members, means for unlocking the said locking means operable from within the elevator car, and means, positively actuated, for bringing the said members into locking position when said toggle levers are brought into closed position. f

6. In a device ofthe kind described, an elevator door, toggle levers connected to said door, a latch and latch lock operatively mounted with respect to said toggle -levers to lock said toggle levers when brought into the position corresponding to the closed position of said elevator door, and means connected to said latch lock to hold said latch in raised position when said toggle levers are in the position corresponding to the open position of said elevator doors.

7. AIn a device of the kind described, an elevator door, toggle levers connected to said door, a' latch pivotally mounted below said toggle levers, a latch lock connected to a link ofthe toggle levers and extending under said latch so as to cooperate therewith to lock said toggle levers in the position in which said elevator door is closed, means for actuatin the said latch comprising a rod 'mounte in proximity thereto and adapted toraise the latch when said rod is actuatedv from within the elevator car, means within mov the elevator car for raising the said release raised position, and means operatively conrod and to lift said latoh when the elevator nected to said release rod for returning said 10 ear is Within a predetermined distance of latch to its locked position when the said the landing at the said door, means on the means Within the elevator car for raising 5 said latch lock for holding said latch in said release rod is released.

raised position while the said toggle levers Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 5th are in open position, means connected to day of May 1925. said latch lock for lowering said latch from CYRUS W. BASSETT. 

